1411 entries found
On 19 June, Les Forums France Inde organised a round table on Dalits, caste discrimination and the persistence of untouchability in contemporary India. The discussion addressed Dalit exclusion in education, employment, public spaces and access to justice, as well as discrimination ranging from everyday contempt to severe violence, often with impunity. The panel brought together South Asia scholar Christophe Jaffrelot, writer Ari Gautier, graphic designer Ajitesh Lokhande and author and filmmaker Valentin Henault, moderated by Eléonore Gratton. Speakers reflected on Dalit perspectives, strategies of resistance, the continuing relevance of Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s thought, and the role of movements in India and the diaspora in advancing dignity, equality and emancipation.
Can mental health care address trauma without addressing caste? At a conference in Bengaluru, the National Federation of Dalit Women and The Blue Dawn brought practitioners, activists and artists together to explore care rooted in social justice. During the conference, NFDW also celebrated 30 years of its journey by honouring 30 anti-caste individuals and organisations from India who have worked closely with NFDW over the years.
Dalit feminist leaders from India and Nepal met in Bangalore, India, for a week of shared learning and organising. The National Federation of Dalit Women (NFDW) and the Feminist Dalit Organization (FEDO), both IDSN members, strengthened connections across borders and explored the challenges facing Dalit women and girls through capacity-strengthening sessions, exchanges between movement leaders and exposure visits to community initiatives in Bangalore, fostering cross-border feminist solidarity and shared learning.
IDSN brought together #DalitVoicesForJustice, UN experts, civil society and Member States for our HRC62 side-event, Caste, Gender and Power: #DalitVoicesForJustice on 2 July at the UN Human Rights Council. The event highlighted the urgent need to explicitly address caste and gender discrimination as a root cause of widespread human rights violations across South Asia. This was underscored by powerful addresses from the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Dr. Ashwini K.P. and the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Prof. Nicolas Levrat.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has issued wide-ranging recommendations to India to strengthen action against caste discrimination, reaffirming that caste-based discrimination is fully covered by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Following its August 2026 review of India, CERD raised concerns over persistent segregation, caste-based violence, discrimination against Dalit women, barriers to justice, manual scavenging, bonded labour and discrimination in education and access to services. The Committee called for stronger implementation of existing protections, improved access to remedies and better data on the situation of Dalits. Ahead of the review, IDSN and Minority Rights Group International submitted a joint alternative report documenting continuing caste-based discrimination and gaps in implementation of previous CERD recommendations.
The EU’s 2025 Human Rights and Democracy in the World country reports include several references of relevance to caste-affected communities in South Asia. In Bangladesh, the report explicitly identifies discrimination against Dalits as a longstanding human rights concern. In Nepal, it highlights concerns that Dalits and other marginalised groups have not been meaningfully included in transitional justice processes and could be excluded from current reform debates, while also noting the continuing underrepresentation of women and minorities in political life. In India, caste is not addressed as a systemic issue, although the report notes continuing violence against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, alongside restrictions affecting civil society. The Pakistan chapter does not explicitly mention caste or Dalits, but raises related concerns including discrimination against minorities, child marriage, child labour, labour rights, and violence against women.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative’s (HRMI) 2026 India report highlights a range of human rights concerns affecting Dalits. Based on assessments from human rights experts and practitioners in India, the report identifies Dalit communities as particularly vulnerable to violations of physical integrity rights, while Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians are specifically identified as being at risk of arbitrary arrest. Hindu Dalits are also reported to face restrictions on freedom of religion and belief, including discrimination in places of worship. On economic and social rights, the report points to displacement, exclusion, residential discrimination and segregation, as well as people being forced into manual, caste-based work. The findings form part of HRMI’s broader assessment of continuing human rights concerns in India.
ALTERNATIVE REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (CERD) CASTE-BASED DISCRIMINATION REVIEW OF THE COMBINED 20th AND 21st PERIODIC REPORTS OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA - MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL (MRG) and INTERNATIONAL DALIT SOLIDARITY NETWORK (IDSN) 118th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), 10 to 25 August 2026
The 2025 Institute of Public Enterprise study, supported by India’s National Human Rights Commission, examines girl child labour in textile and garment clusters in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and highlights caste as an important structural factor shaping vulnerability and working conditions. Drawing on earlier research, it specifically notes the recruitment of young Dalit girls, including migrants and girls from poor rural areas, into Tamil Nadu spinning mills under multi-year arrangements linked to wages and end-of-contract payments, where restrictions on movement and poor living and working conditions have been documented (p. 36). The study’s own survey data show that 33.6% of the 720 women workers surveyed in Tamil Nadu were recorded as Scheduled Caste (SC), while 13.9% of 790 respondents in Karnataka were SC; the analysis finds statistically significant relationships between caste and both duration of employment and daily income, including evidence in Tamil Nadu that workers classified as general or forward caste received higher daily incomes than other caste groups (pp. 60–61, 86, 104–105, 138). ([NHRC][1]) More broadly, the report concludes that the expansion of the textile industry has been accompanied by caste, gender, class, and religious discrimination, with marginalised communities excluded from higher-skilled opportunities, and argues that girl child labour cannot be understood solely as a consequence of poverty but must also be addressed in relation to deeper social hierarchies and discriminatory structures (p. 159).
The report Dalit Women’s Long Road to Justice: Monitoring 10 Years of SDG 5 in India through Caste, Gender and SRHR Lens, by All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch - AIDMAM, offers an evidence-based assessment of progress and persistent gaps in achieving gender equality for Dalit women in India over the past decade. Drawing on official data, existing research and primary interviews conducted in 2025 in Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Telangana, the report shows how caste-based patriarchy continues to shape discrimination, violence, harmful practices, barriers to justice and unequal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
IDSN facilitated a series of advocacy meetings and outreach activities in Brussels involving Dalit human rights defenders that took place in December 2025. The visit created an important opportunity to bring first-hand perspectives from South Asia into exchanges with EU institutions on caste-based discrimination, human rights and democratic governance and contribute to ongoing strategy work on caste discrimination.
Tamil Nadu State Assembly Election 2026 Dalit – Tribal Election Manifesto
With growing evidence of labour exploitation across South Asia—this report provides an evidence- based analysis to assist the European Commission in identifying high-risk sectors connected to EU supply chains and in enforcing due diligence in line with the EU Forced Labour Regulation.
At the 14th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, the IDSN #DalitVoicesUN delegation engagement underscored the urgent need to recognise caste discrimination in global supply chains and human-rights due diligence. Through active engagement in multiple sessions, the focus was on the importance of rights-based, people-centred frameworks aligned with international standards.
At the Eighteenth session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues in 2025, IDSN delegates highlighted the urgent need to address caste discrimination, violence and exclusion across South Asia. Dalit delegates from South Asia raised concerns around institutional impunity, structural marginalisation of Dalit women and the shrinking civic space for human rights defenders. They also emphasised the vital contributions of Dalit women workers and activists in fostering accountability, dignity and social cohesion at local and global levels
This briefing highlights the responsibilities of fashion companies in relation to the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework (UN Guiding Principles), and assesses the key ways in which fashion companies compound the failure of states and factory employers to protect workers and respect freedom of association. In this briefing, Amnesty International analyses the areas where fashion companies can work harder to promote freedom of association and decent working conditions across their supply chain in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. We identify how the current model of complex supply chains and privatized auditing in the industry diffuses responsibility and places a low value on the labour of the predominantly female garment workers, solidifying an exploitative business model which fashion companies need to address at its core. We make recommendations for how these companies can play a much larger role in promoting freedom of association for workers in their supply chain. This briefing is designed to be read alongside Amnesty International’s Stitched Up: Denial of Freedom of Association for Garment Workers in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka which looks in more detail at the human rights violations in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and the role of states and employers (supplier factories).
In January 2025, Ethical Trade Norway convened a seminar titled “Responsible Trade with India – What Must You Know?” to explore the complexities of engaging with India’s vast and diverse market. The event underscored the critical importance of understanding caste-based discrimination, particularly against Dalits and Adivasis, within global supply chains. The Dalit Solidarity Network Norway also played an active role in the Seminar.
On 14 February 2025, IDSN, Arisa and Homeworkers Worldwide hosted a side-session at the OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector. The discussion addressed the exploitation of Dalit workers in South Asia’s garment and leather industries that form part of global supply chains. The panel featured voices from the frontlines of labour rights, each offering insights into caste discrimination, forced and bonded labour and caste and gender-based violence at work.
